SPRINGFIELD — A new ordinance that would require all Springfield landlords to register their apartments and subject them to state and local inspections went through so many revisions Monday that the Springfield Select Board has to restart the formal approval process.

The board will re-warn the second formal hearing or review of the ordinance, which has been months in the making.

Kristi Morris, chairman of the Springfield Select Board, said he was concerned with some of the language in the ordinance, and he said the ordinance had inaccurate legal citations. He also said he was concerned with the number of inspections the apartments would be subjected to.

Town Attorney Stephen Ankuda and Town Zoning Administrator Bill Kearns went through the ordinance, debating the meaning of language.

At one point, the discussion had bogged down so badly that Town Manager Robert Forguites suggested that the ordinance be sent back to the town’s Ordinance Committee for another review.

But Ankuda, who had been working on the draft for months, pushed ahead, outlining the changes the board wanted for clarification, thus avoiding sending the ordinance back to the drawing board.

Under the plan, landlords must register their properties with the town, and the state Division of Fire/Safety would inspect each apartment within five years. The apartment would also be inspected by the town’s health officer, a post which is currently held by Fire Chief Russell Thompson. Finally, landlords would have to get a certificate of occupancy from Kearns’ office.